Framework for climate deal is just a start

What needs to be worked out now is who will foot the bill and to what extent to achieve the target

There is no alternative but to move forward with a deal that’s not perfect. Yesterday was scheduled to be the deadline to conclude climate change talks currently underway in Paris, but as with a previous gathering in Copenhagen, the delegates are still talking and the deadline has been extended by a day. What’s at stake is the future of this blue planet we all share on its journey around the sun, and whether the world leaders can agree on measures to at least stop — if not turn back — the effects of global warming and its already irreversible damage to the environment.

Finding an agreement, that all of nearly 200 nations represented could live with, was never going to be easy, but there simply is no time left. And at least it seems as if there is enough common ground to frame a deal that will curtain the emissions of greenhouse gases. According to French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, who is coordinating the talks, the delegates are “on the cusp of an agreement” despite persistent differences on key issues dividing rich and developing nations. He has unveiled a slightly trimmed 27-page draft text that removed some of the main points of contention.

Most notably, the latest draft suggests a compromise on the onceformidable divide over how ambitious the deal should be in trying to control the rise in the Earth’s surface temperature. Many developing countries are pressing for a deal that aims to keep temperatures below a 1.5-degrees Celsius rise over pre-industrial levels. Many scientists say this level is required to avoid grievous disruptions in climate patterns. That target has been resisted by wealthier countries, which have argued for a less ambitious but more attainable 2-degrees Celsius limit, citing the huge costs and uncertain energy options of going further.

The draft language said countries would commit to keeping temperature rises “well below 2 degrees Celsius” and “pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees”.

What needs to be worked out now is who will foot the bill and to what extent, though rich nations have agreed to pony up funds. The framework of the deal seems largely in place. It may not please all, but at least it’s a plan for going forward.